cassiopeia ꒱ markhyuck

fifteen

"Okay," Donghyuck finally mumbled, swallowing his fear and turning to face the carriage doors, "let's hit the road then, I guess."

Mark took his hand, helping him ascend the tiny staircase into the pit of the carriage. The king poked his head in as Donghyuck sat down, making sure that the omega looked settled before he shut the doors.

Donghyuck let out a deep sigh as he heard the muffled orders of the soldiers, preparing the carriage for departure, and then they were pulling forward. He thought that maybe he could use this opportunity to get some rest, just so time would pass by a little faster if nothing else. He shifted around on the cushions surrounding him, making himself comfortable, before he laid down and closed his eyes, letting the gentle rocking motions lure him into unconsciousness.

He could only hope that this whole thing wasn't a huge mistake.

┈ ୨ 👑 ୧ ┈

Donghyuck awoke to the carriage hitting a sharp bump in the road, causing him to jolt forward and nearly fall off of the seat he was laying on.

He groaned quietly, lifting his head and blinking away the remnants of sleep as he tried to get his brain to catch up with where he was. He heard the muffled voices and quiet laughter of the guards outside the carriage, and could see a bit of the sunlight peeking through the curtains covering the window, and he was disappointed to note that it didn't seem like much time had passed or that they had traveled very far.

He slowly pulled the curtains away, blinking to get his eyes used to the sudden blinding sunlight, and poked his head out of the window to look around. To his surprise, Jeno was on a horse walking right up against the carriage, and the poor soldier startled at Donghyuck's sudden appearance.

"Your Highness," Jeno breathed, quickly trying to school his facial features back into indifference, but Donghyuck shot him a teasing smile anyways for getting surprised so easily. "Is something the matter? What can I do for you?"

"How long have we been traveling?" Donghyuck hummed, reaching up to rub away some of the remaining dry sleep from his eyes.

"It's been about three hours so far, Your Highness."

Donghyuck groaned. "And how much longer to go?"

"We estimate that we'll reach our first destination in about two days."

Donghyuck whined, covering his face with his hands. "I'm so over this already. I hate being trapped in this stupid stuffy carriage."

"Would you like me to request that we pull over so that you may stretch your legs?"

Donghyuck pursed his lips, tapping his fingers against the makeshift windowsill. "How much longer until we're scheduled to take a break?"

"We will stop in a nearby village for food in about another two hours. Then we will travel for another six hours, and stop somewhere near the edge of the woods to spend the night."

"I'll just wait the two hours, then," Donghyuck mumbled, "surely stopping for food will give me enough of a break to last until we stop to sleep."

The ride towards the town was painfully uneventful, as was their short visit. Donghyuck got to walk around a little, marveling at the landscape and the small village, and enjoying their food. They boarded the carriage again, and though Donghyuck was bored and anxious out of his mind, he managed to withstand the six hour trek towards the forest of large oak trees that stood proud and tall against the horizon.

Donghyuck saw Mark again for the first time in hours when the king came and opened the door to the carriage for him, holding out his hand and helping Donghyuck down the steps. His legs shook, tired from being rendered useless for so many hours on end, but his exhaustion melted away momentarily as he looked up and marveled at the gorgeous tree line.